 

 

Bags of Time  Roman 

 

Pre-Workshop Information 

 

Outline: 

 

This is an evidence-based workshop for KS2  adaptable to Years 3 to 6. In small groups children will 
open and explore the lost luggage of a person from Wandsworths past. They will explore the items 
within the luggage, questioning what these items can tell us about that person. Historical resources 
and supporting documents will be used to place the objects in historic and regional context and will 
assist the small groups of pupils in creating a detailed understanding of what their characters life 
might have been like. 

 

Programme Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes 

 

The session aims to be pupil-centered by allowing children to reach their own conclusions using 
historical evidence. It gives them the opportunity to be creative when thinking about their character 
and deciding what they will share with the class during the plenary. 

 

Each small group will share their findings with the whole class by: 

. reporting their findings and stating their reasons for their conclusions 
. re-enacting the character of the person whose suitcase has been found 
. placing when their character would have lived on a timeline, exploring more general issues of 
the time period 


 

Links with Units of Study: 

 

In support of KS2 National Curriculum the museum has created a session specific to Romans. 

. NC Areas: Chronological Understanding. Historical Interpretation, enquiry, organisation and 
communication 
. QCA History Units: Why have people invaded and settled in Britain in the past? 
. QCA Geography Unit: Village Settlers 
. QCA Citizenship Unit: Living in a diverse world 


 

NB: With prior notice this session can be adapted to reflect one of the above units of study more 
heavily than the others to make the session as relevant as possible. Please contact us if you think we 
could relate this session to other elements that your pupils are studying in school. 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Aims and Learning Objectives: 

 

The session will provide children with opportunities to: 

. recognise that the past is represented and interpreted in different ways, and to give reasons 
for this 
. find out about events, people and changes from a range of sources of information, such as 
artefacts and replica artefacts, documents, printed sources, pictures and photographs 
. ask and answer questions, and consider information relevant to the focus of the enquiry 
. work co-operatively in small groups 
. develop their chronological understanding 
. develop their vocabulary relating to evidence, archaeology, reproductions 


 

What we expect: 

 

. Children will think about their own lives and make comparisons with people living in different 
times and places. 

. Children will enjoy learning about the everyday lives of people who have lived in this borough 
in the past. 

. Children will have an increased awareness about the local area and Wandsworth Museum. 

. The Museum team need to have 5 to 10 minutes to set up before the session 
. Whilst museum education staff will run the session, support in the classroom is 
required in order to minimise the risks involved with the session items, enforce the 
schools behaviour policy and ensure artefacts are handled appropriately 
. Your institution will reimburse the museum for the cost of any item/items that needs to 
be replaced due to loss/theft/breakage (through inappropriate behaviour) during the 
programme. 


 


Roman Wandsworth 

 

For about 400 years, Britain was part of the Roman Empire and saw important technical innovations. 

A greater variety of pottery, coins and metal goods, stone, tile, mortar and plaster appear in the 
archaeology of this time and clearly indicate that Romans were present in what is now known as the 
borough of Wandsworth. 

 

Evidence of Romans in this area begins soon after the Roman conquest in AD 43 until well into the 5th 
century AD. 

 

Twelve pewter ingots from the Battersea foreshore are rare evidence for early Christianity in London and 
late Roman burials, including a lead coffin with scallop shell patterns, found on the site of Battersea Park, 
are strong evidence for a wealthy family living in the area. 

 

The nearest known Roman villa is at the head of the Wandle at Beddington. Caesars Camp on 
Wimbledon Common, older than its name suggests, dates to around 800-700 BC. At Putney a 
prosperous Romano-British riverside settlement flourished from the middle of the 1st century into the 5th 
century AD. 

 

A finely decorated legionary sword from the Thames between Putney and Fulham (now in the British 
Museum) may have been lost by a Roman soldier or have been loot offered by a Briton to the Thames. 

Today it is still possible to find shards of Roman pottery, clay roof tiles and other evidence of Roman life 
along the Thames foreshore (which was dry land when sea-levels were lower) between Putney and 
Battersea. 

 

An early Roman cremation burial in an urn indicates Roman settlement in central Wandsworth, as do 
finds from the foreshore, some as late as the early 5th century, by Wandsworth Park and the Wandle 
mouth. 

 

 Artefacts show evidence that farmers, craftsmen and metal workers living here in the borough were 
influenced by Roman occupation. Although the end of official Roman rule in Britain came around 400 AD, 
Roman influences continued for many decades afterwards. 

 

Roman Roads in Wandsworth 

 

A network of roads, crucial for moving soldiers and supplies around the country, radiated out of Londinium 
into the surrounding areas. Stane Street was one such road, and is now referred to as Balham High 
Street/Upper Tooting Road. Upper Richmond Road is also thought to have originally been a Roman 
creation. 

 

Minor Roman roads have also been found in Putney, west of the High Street, with the crossing points 
over the Thames most likely west of the present bridge. 

 

 

 

 


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Bags of Time  Roman 

 

Post Workshop Resource Pack 

 

We very much hope you enjoyed the outreach session and we would be very 
grateful to hear your views on this or other elements of the educational services of 
the museum. If you have any comments or concerns that have not been addressed 
in our evaluation, please contact us at bookings@wandsworthmuseum.co.uk. 

 

 

 

This resource pack is designed to support you and your pupils after participation in 
the Bags of Time - Roman workshop. Wherever possible we have tried to keep 
information relevant to the local area although there may be some artefacts and 
photographs that represent the national context of the time period. 

 

Please note: If you have not yet participated in the workshop, please do not reveal 
the content to the participants as this will lessen the impact of the discovery element 
of the museum workshop. 

 

 


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Character 1: Wealthy Woman 

 

 

Background information: 

 

Girls born into a rich family were expected to marry a wealthy man and have a 
family of their own. A good Roman wife would have been respectful, quiet, loving 
and obedient to her husband. 

 

Although Romans believed in the right of every citizen to vote, women, like slaves, 
did not have this right. However wealthy women enjoyed considerable power and 
freedom. Married women could control property and managed their own money. 
The ladies from leading Roman houses influenced important politicians and 
patronised the arts. 

 

For example, Fulvia who lived in Rome in the first century BC was involved 
in politics through her three husbands and supported Julius Caesar. 

 

 

Clues in the luggage of this character: 

 

Silver spoon 

 

It was common to eat with your fingers, but the rich may also each have had their 
own spoon. This could have been made from silver, gold or animal bone. Romans 
also used a knife while eating. 

 

 

They would have also had larger spoons for dishing out the meal from the cooking 
pots to the plates and the fact that the spoon featured as a primary tool for eating 
tells us about the kinds of food that were commonly eaten. 

 

 

 

 

 


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Child Feeding Pot 

 

 

 

 

Baby feeding pots of this type have been discovered in Roman child burials. Adults 
would be buried with adults things and children would be buried with things that 
they needed in their lives. 

 

These bottles were usually made of terracotta and round in shape, so that the milk 
did not spill out. 

 

Manicure Set 

 

 

Rich Romans would have had access to many beauty tools and remedies. Some of 
the combs found were made from bone but this replica manicure set is made from 
brass. It has a pair tweezers, a cuticle trimmer and an ear spoon in order to scoop 
wax for the ear. 

 

 


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Character 2: Native Briton 

 

Background information: 

 

Native Britons is the term we use to refer to the people already living in Britain when 
the Romans invaded in AD47 (sometimes these people are referred to as Celts). At 
this point Britain was divided into tribal regions ruled by kings or chiefs. Most 
Native Britons were farmers living in round houses made from wood and mud 
(wattle and daub), with roofs of thatch. 

 

The native Britons had a well developed society and civilisation long before the 
Romans invaded. They were skilled metal workers and their weapons were often 
beautifully decorated. Their artistic talent wasnt just for decorating weapons; they 
decorated their jewellery including torcs (neck ornaments) and brooches for cloaks 
and dresses. They even decorated their skin with swirling patterns in different 
coloured dyes from plants by painting it on or by tattoos. 

 

Native Britons had strong cultural and trade links with other people in Europe. They 
traded with the Romans when they arrived and bought luxury goods such as 
pottery, glass, fabric, wine, olives, plums, and dates in exchange for slaves won in 
war. 

 

Clues in the luggage of this character: 

 

Make Up 

 

 

 

 

Cosmetic grinders were made from 2 pieces and used like a pestle and mortar to 
grind coloured minerals to produce make-up. 

 

We think they used make up on their eyes and cheeks. 

 

The loop hole enabled it to be carried around the neck on a cord of piece of leather. 

 


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Bone Needle 

 

 

 

When we hear the word technology we might normally think of machinery and 
computers but technology can be used to talk about any tools that humans have 
used now and in the past. 

 

It would have been shaped from the bone of a dead animal. When a hole is put in it, 
Romans and the Britons could thread wool trough and sew and weave fabrics 
together. 

 

Their fabric would also have been woven a loom held down by stone weights. This 
kind of weaving would have given their fabric that checked pattern. 

 

Oyster 

 

 

 

Romans introduced a wider variety of foods into the diet of Native Britons. 

 

 


 

Prior to the arrival of the Romans, diet in Britain was already healthy, consisting of 
boiled meat, mainly red deer and wild pig, fresh bread and seasonal vegetables. 

 

 

The Romans introduced seasoning. Herbs introduced included parsley, dill, 
coriander, mint, fennel, thyme, garlic, rosemary, sage and onion. 

 

Fish became far more popular during Roman times. Shellfish was readily sourced 
from coastal areas in Britain and Oysters were especially prized. 

 

 


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Character 3: Roman Soldier 

 

Background information: 

 

The Roman army was made up of both Legionaries and Auxiliaries. Legionary 
soldiers were highly trained engineers able to build forts, roads and bridges. 
Although there is no evidence of a Roman fort in the borough, we know there was a 
Roman presence and that Soldiers would have travelled along the roads built 
throughout the area. 

 

A finely decorated legionary sword was found in the Thames between Putney and 
Fulham. Now in the British Museum the sword may have been lost by a Roman 
soldier or have been placed in the river as an offering to the Thames. The bronze 
scabbard plate is embossed with the Roman motif of Romulus and Remus. 

 

Clues in the luggage of this character: 

 

Decorated oil lamp 

 

 

Oil lamps were used to create light in Roman Wandsworth. Olive oil or fish oil would 
have been poured into the middle section and a wick made of string put in the spout 
and lit. You can imagine that burning oil of this kind would have left an odour when 
used in doors. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Seal Box 

 

Seal boxes were used by the Romans to make sure that a wax tablet was not 
opened and a private message read by the wrong person. 

 

 

 

The small seal box would be filled with soft wax. 

A string would be tied around the wax tablet holding the message, and the ends of 
the string placed over the open seal box. 

 

A personal seal would then be pressed on top of the ends of the string, pushing 
them into the soft wax. The only way to open the tablet would be to break the seal. 

 

 

Frying Pan 

 

 

 

The complex Roman recipes needed more careful cooking than the simpler stews 
and roasts prepared by the Native Britons. This meant their cooking equipment was 
more complicated. While soldiers were away from their forts it would have been 
likely that they ate in their groups around a fire. 

 

 


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Character 4: Roman Slave 

 

 

Background information: 

 

Rich Romans would have been judged by the number of slaves they owned. 

 

Some slaves were born free but then captured and kept as slaves for the rest of 
their lives. Some slaves were born as slaves and worked very hard until they died. 
Slavery was accepted as a normal part of Roman life. 

 

They would have done a wide range of tasks for their masters, from working in the 
fields to preparing their masters food. Rich Romans would have used slaves to help 
them get dressed in the morning and rich women would have had slaves around to 
prepare their hair and make-up. 

 

Slaves would have worn a basic tunic and would have been banned from wearing a 
toga! Togas were for ordinary citizens and important people. 

 

 

Clues in the luggage of this character: 

 

Amphora 

 

 

 

Amphorae were the most commonly used method of transporting liquids such as 
olive oil, wine and fish sauce. The pointed base made it easier to store lots of them, 
by sinking them in the ground and loading them on their side on a ship. 

 

 

 

 

 


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Strigil and oil jar 

 

 

Romans did not use soap like we do. One way of getting clean was to have oil 
rubbed into your body and then pass through the rooms of the bath, each room 
hotter than the last. 

 

While sweaty, they would rub oil over their skin and then scrap it off with a strigil, 
pulling the dirt off with it. 

 

They may have scraped themselves or they may have got a slave to do it for them. 

 

Mortarium 

 

 

 

Made from clay, these bowls had sand or small stones pressed into the inside 
surface. 

 

Used like a pestle and mortar, mortaria would grind herbs that would then be used 
to flavour food. Examples of herbs used are comfrey, dill, fennel, and coriander, as 
well as those introduced by the Romans: rosemary, thyme, bay, basil and savoury 
mint. 

 

 

 

 


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Character 5: Roman Child 

 

 

Background information: 

 

Most children during Roman times did not go to school. Only rich people could 
afford to pay a teacher  or to have a slave who was educated enough to be able to 
teach their children. Girls did not go to school, but would be tutored at home if they 
were lucky. Boys would be taught history, maths, and reading and writing Latin. 

 

Boys and girls from poor families had to work to help their parents. They did not 
think this was bad  it was normal. 

 

 

Clues in the luggage of this character: 

 

Knuckle Bones 

 

 

 

These are knuckle bones (replica) and they would have been salvaged from the 
carcass of a dead lamb and used in a game where they were thrown off the hand 
and caught in various ways. 

 

Some Roman toys were like ones we play with today, such as toy soldiers, marbles, 
rattles, balls, doll's houses, carts and pull-along animals on wheels. 

 

Even poor children had board games, using pebbles for counters, and wooden 
dolls. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Wax Tablet 

 

 

Writing was almost unknown in Britain before the Romans arrived. 

 

The most common wax tablets had two leaves which could be closed and bound 
together to protect the writing inside. 

 

The stylus was pointed at one end for writing in the wax and blunt at the other for 
smoothing the wax. 

 

Coins 

 

 

 

Although coins were used for trading they were also a means of communication. 

 

Because coins have a picture of the Roman emperor on them, people who handled 
the coins would get the message that the Romans had arrived. 

 

And because coins would have passed from person to person and move quickly 
through the country the message would more quickly. 

 

Coins would therefore spread news about an emperor and his victories. 

 


 

Post Workshop Activity Suggestions 

 

 

Below are a number of suggested classroom activities to assist in extending the 
learning in this session. Please find attached the related worksheets. 

 

History/Art 

. Write about or draw the person that has been investigated, fleshing out their 
character. Where they might have lived, how they looked, what other possessions 
they might have had and what their day to day lives were like. 


 

. Using the attached rules and game board, children can make and play the Roman 
game we now call Nine Mens Morris (Worksheet 1). 


 

ICT 

 

. Use ICT to further research the living conditions of each character. Draw a picture of 
a domus romana (Roman dwelling) and label it? Can you add the following labels? 
Atruim, tablinum, cubicula, peristyle, triclinium, impluvium, vestibule, latrines, 
kitchen. 


 

 

Art/DT 

. Make a roman shield. Let the children research roman shields in books and on the 
internet. What did they look like? What shape were they? What size were they? 
What materials were they made from? What was used to decorate them? Once the 
ideas have been discussed the children can do a sketch of their shield and then 
make it out of cardboard and paint or collage materials. 
. Design and Make Mosaics. Children can colour or use small coloured pieces of 
paper/fabric/card to form a mosaic design. You can use the design on the handout 
provided or create your own. This could be done as a whole class project by 
increasing the size of the handout (Worksheet 2). 


 

Literacy 

. Can the children produce a museum guide for the artefacts that they handled on 
their visit? For each artefact they should consider its date, what it is, what it was 
used for, who might have used it, what its made of and where it might have been 
found. 
. Tell your children a little about how the romans settled in Britain. Talk about the 
difference in customs and life e.g. baths, religion, farming, food. Ask them to 
imagine living in a country very different from the one they are growing up in? What 
would they miss from their country? What mite they like about the new one? What 
new skills mite they learn? What would be hard for them? How would this have been 
different for the Romans when there was no way to pop back to their old country for 
a visit. Discuss how the roman invaders mite have felt being far away from home? 
Ask the children to sum these ideas up in a letter or email to a friend. 
. Can the children create a Roman Dictionary? Divide the words up amongst the 
class and produce a class resource: gladiator, hypocaust, basilica, mosaic, chariot, 
army, pugio, legion, invasion, settlement, caldarium, gladius, frigidarium, forum, 
Londinium, senate, tax, stylus, villa, amphitheatre, aqueduct, auxiliary soldiers, toga. 
Information can be found in books, museum guides or on the internet. 


 


 

 

 

. Write like a Roman 


Using the supporting information children can write to their friends in the style of a Roman 
letter (Worksheet 3). 

 

Numeracy 

. Set the children Maths homework using Roman Numerals! 


E.g. VI times VIII equals what? XII add XVI equals what? What is XII divided by III? 
Answers in Roman Numerals please! 

 

 

 

 

Further Resources: 

. National Museums of Scotlands website has a pack of roman resources: 
http://www.nms.ac.uk/pdf/schools_romanhandingbox_teachers_notes.pdf 


 

. There are a range of further resources for various Roman topics at 
http://www.strettonhandley.derbyshire.sch.uk/romans.html 


 

. Woodlands Junior School in Kent has a great website with lots of children and 
teacher resources, including some on Romans: http://www.woodlands-
junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/history.html 


 

. You can also find further Celtic and Roman Information: 
www.resourcesforhistory.com/ 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Nine Men's Morris Board 


 

Roman Worksheet 1 

Merils or Nine Mens Morris 

For two players, each will need nine counters. 
The players alternate at placing a counter on any spot of the board, 
attempting to form a row of three of one's own counters. Each player 
attempts to prevent their opponent forming a row of three. Whoever 
forms a row of three is allowed to remove one of the opponents 
counters (provided it does not form part of a complete row). 
Once all counters have been placed, each player moves alternately one 
counter to an adjoining free spot. Each then attempts to create rows 
and remove the opponents counters. 
Once a player has only three counters left on the board he may begin to 
'spring' and place his counter on any free spot. 
The winner is the player who reduces his opponent to two counters. 

 

 


Mosaic Fish Template002 


 

Roman Worksheet 2 

 

 


 

 

 

Roman Worksheet 3 

 

1. Start with: Greetings (examples below) 
. Severus to his Candidus, greetings (Severus Candido suo salutem) 
. Claudia Severa to her Lepidina, greetings 


 

Roman Letter 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2. Body: 

Include news of the sender's health or 
wishes for the well-being of the recipient. 

Also, greetings are often passed to other 
mutual friends and acquaintances. 

This is the place for an invitation or to say 
thank you for inviting me to your party. 

3. How to end it: 

. farewell (uale) 
. farewell lord (domine) or 'farewell 
brother' (frater) 
. wish them good health again: 


'I pray that you are enjoying the best 
of fortune and are in good health' 
(opto te felicissimum bene ualere) 

. 'my sister, my dearest and most 
longed-for soul' (soror karissima et 
anima ma desideratissima) 



 


